


At the Waters Edge

by pagen_godess



Category: Kingdom Hearts
Genre: Post-Kingdom Hearts III
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-10
Updated: 2019-12-01
Packaged: 2021-01-26 12:55:18
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 11,814
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21374485
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/pagen_godess/pseuds/pagen_godess
Summary: Sometimes the barrier between the Abyss and the words that exist in the realm of light tear just a bit. Just enough that for a few hours he's free of the never ending pathways. And sometimes when he's lucky he get to see familiar faces.
Comments: 15
Kudos: 52





	1. By the Fountain

“Did you hear?” One of the temple acolytes whispered. “People have been seeing a ghost by the fountain in the guardian at night.”

“You shouldn’t believe such nonsense.” The High Priestess scolded as she set out the offerings for the day. 

“Desponia says she saw him. She said it was the boy who saved her from Hades’ monsters.”

“Be quiet, Tasoula, and get back to your sweeping. There’s still much work to be done before the temple’s repaired, and we’ve no time for your ghost stories.”

Having been scolded, the young girl sighed and returned to her sweeping, anything else she might have divulged about this apparent ghost locked behind her lips. That didn’t mean, however, that Hercules had taken his attention off her. In fact, had he not been shifting a column into its proper place he might have approached the young acolyte and asked her for more information.

If what she said was true, then apparently Sora had come to visit - though it didn’t seem very likely.

After all, it wasn’t like Sora to be in Thebes and not pay him, or at least Phil, a visit. While it was true that Hercules had missed him a time or two Sora usually tried to stay long enough to at least say hello.

Hercules missed his young friend when he went away to protect other worlds. Some small part of him wished that he could go with them sometimes. While Hercules didn’t know the threat the Heartless posed as well as his other worldly friends did, he still wanted to help them. 

Hercules wasn’t foolish. He was the son of Zeus, and as such, it wasn’t often that knowledge of any kind was beyond his reach. Usually all he had to do was track down Athena and ask her. She was always more than happy to pass on her knowledge on whatever subject he wanted to know about.

And if one of his conversations with her had included a long talk about what was known about Sora’s sword, well, that was between the two of them and no one else.

Hercules wasn’t ashamed to admit that he’d destroyed everything that the training grounds had had to offer after that talk. Even now, months later, thinking about what he’d been told still made him want to break something. It also made him want to give his friend a hug, because it didn’t seem fair that Sora had to carry such a great burden, even if he did have help.

Sora was kind in a way that made Hercules so very proud to be the boy’s friend. But it also made him sad, because kindness wasn’t often returned with more kindness. Sora was the type of kind that Hercules wished he could be but knew he could never quite achieve. Not that he was going to quit trying.

A soft cough behind him jerked Hercules’s thoughts back to where they were supposed to be. Turning his head, he came eye to forehead with the priestess who had been scolding the young acolyte for her stories. She was an older lady whose hair was as gray as the steel of his sword, but her back was straight and her eyes were clear and sharp.

“Does what the acolyte said trouble you, young Lord?”

Hercules hesitated for a moment before answering. “The boy she talked about seeing. The one who helped me when Hades was causing trouble… He’s a good friend, and I’m worried, I guess, that he’s supposedly been here but hasn’t visited.”

“Pay the acolytes no mind young hero. They’re young and feel chained to their duties at the temple. Making up stories helps them pass time, and gives them a bit of adventure they wouldn’t have otherwise. I doubt that your young friend is truly here but if it bothers you so then why not go out to the fountain and look for him?”

Hercules blinked and fought back the sudden urge to smack his head against the pillar behind him. “I guess there’s nothing stopping me.” He admitted.

The priestess chuckled as she bowed to him and turned her attention back towards the sweeping acolyte. She watched the young girl sweep for a moment before turning her attention back to Hercules. 

“May your father bless you, young lord, and your friend as well. For without you both I fear we’d have been truly lost.” The priestess bowed and turned away before Hercules could manage to choke out a thank you. 

He considered following her for a moment and thanking her for her blessing, but the older woman had duties to attend to and he had an acolyte to find. And questions to ask.

As it turned out finding Desponia hadn’t been nearly as difficult as Hercules thought it’d be. They young woman had been sitting on a bench near the gardens’ entrance, braiding together several dyed cords. The slight burns the young woman had obtained from the Flame Cores had faded away completely, leaving behind softly tanned skin. If Hercules hadn’t seen her the day after the Heartless had attacked, he’d have never known she’d been injured at all.

“Desponia?” Hercules addressed the young woman causing her to jump slightly and drop what Hercules was now beginning to think was a belt.

Desponia looked at him surprised for a few moments before she bowed her head. 

“Lord Hercules.” she said as she began to climb to her feet.

“No, don’t get up. I just wanted to ask you a question.” Hercules admitted as he bent down and picked up the belt that Desponia had been weaving. He offered it to the young acolyte with a sheepish grin.

The young woman blushed as she took it from his hand before she tucked a lock of her hair behind her ear and shifted her gaze away from him.

“A question, my Lord?” 

“Yes, you told your friend that you’d been seeing a ghost by the fountain.”

Desponia blushed. “Priestess Evdokia says I was imaging things. It was a trick of the light on the water.”

“You said that it looked like the boy who saved you when the monsters attacked Thebes.”

Desponia shook her head. “It wasn’t- it was just a trick of the light.”

“Desponia please. They boy who saved you is my friend and he always comes to see me when he visits. If he’s here and in some sort of trouble, then I want to help him, and I can’t do that unless you tell me what you saw.” Hercules pleaded with the young woman.

Desponia worried her lip for a moment before she seemed to come to a decision. The young woman placed her work beside her on the bench she was sitting on before standing. She took a moment to straighten her dress before she motioned for Hercules to follow her deeper into the garden.

The two walked in silence for the few minutes it took to walk from one end of the garden to the other. 

“I saw him there.” Desponia said as she pointed towards the fountain near the Overlook.

“You said you saw him at night.” It wasn’t quite a question. 

“Yes. I was walking back to the temple and when I turned the corner I saw him sitting on the edge of the fountain. He looked so sad… I was going to go and check on him, but I blinked and when I opened my eyes again, he was gone.”

Hercules felt his hands clench into fists at his side, a sharp tension running through his body. Sora could do many things but vanishing into thin air wasn’t one of them.

“Thank you, Desponia.”

The young woman looked like she wanted to say something else for a moment before deciding against it. Instead, she gave him a small bow and began walking back down the hill to where she’d left her work, leaving Hercules alone to his thoughts.

Had his current situation been any different then Hercules might have felt bad for being so short with her but right now there wasn’t any room in his mind for that. Right now, his mind was occupied with thoughts of his friend and the apparent possibility that he might need to go start a fight with his uncle (again).

Because his friend was worth starting a fight over if need be, but first, he had to be sure that Desponia’s story was true. Which meant that he was going to have to come back in a few hours after the sun had set and the moon had risen.

Several hours later, and after a dinner that Hercules barely touched due to nerves, the moon was shining bright and full in the night sky. Hercules sighed as he tried to be as quiet as possible while exiting his home. No need to wake up Phil or Pegasus on accident and have to deal with the questions his trainer was sure to ask.

“Where are you going so late at night, wonder boy?” A voice asked suddenly as a delicate hand ran over his shoulder teasingly. Meg, on the other hand, was a completely different story.

Hercules sighed, before he turned his attention from the front gate of his home and towards the woman he was hoping would become his wife sometime in the near future. For half a moment, he considered lying to her about where he was going, before reminding himself that Meg would understand his plight far better than Phil and, unlike with Phil, there’d be no lectures about listening to gossip. 

“One of the acolytes said she saw Sora by the fountain in the gardens last night.”

Meg blinked, and then frowned the small frown that meant she knew something was wrong. “He’s here and he hasn’t come to visit? That doesn’t seem like him.”

“It isn’t, and if it weren’t for the fact that the acolyte is one that Sora, Donald, and Goofy saved I wouldn’t have paid the story any mind but…”

“If somethings up, you want to help.” Meg finished for him causing Hercules to smile.

“Yes.”

Meg leaned up and kissed his cheek, before she turned and sauntered back into their home. “If he really is here, throw him over your shoulder and bring him home with you. We’ll feed him dinner, put him to bed and Phil can give him a lecture in the morning.”

Hercules laughed as he watched Meg make her way back to their room, before he exited their home and began making his way towards the gardens.

The gardens weren’t exactly the closest thing to his Hercules’s estate, but they weren’t so far away that it took him a long time to reach them. It was a cool, clear evening and had there not been a pit of worry in his stomach for his young friend Hercules might have enjoyed his evening stroll more. 

As things were, he couldn’t really say he was having a calm, peaceful walk. Every small sound made him flinch, and some small part of him kept expecting Heartless to melt out of the shadows, as they were wont to do when his friend was near. And if he wasn’t jumping at invisible shadows then he was stopping to listen to every voice he heard, on the off chance that it’d turn out to be Sora’s voice. 

Donald and Goofy’s voice he could pick up out of a crowd with ease, but Sora’s was a bit more difficult to tell apart. Unfortunately, none the voices turned out be the boy’s. 

By the time he actually reached the entrance to the gardens, he’d wound himself up so much that Hercules was quite certain that he’d take a swing at the next thing that caught him off guard. Pausing at the top of the stairs that led into the garden, Hercules took a moment to draw in a deep breath.

If he didn’t calm down, he was going to do something foolish, and while he could apologize and pay for a new statue or pillar to be built, he couldn’t replace a person as easily. If he went in all wound up and ended hurting some poor drunk out for a midnight stroll he’d never forgive himself.

So Hercules turned his attention to the brightly glowing moon, and held his breath for a few moments before letting the air escape his lungs in a slow exhale. It helped much more than he’d thought it would.

Nerves steadied, at least for the moment, Hercules began descending the stairs. As he neared the fountain, he started feeling silly. He could see part of the rim from where he was, and his friend wasn’t there like Desponia said he’d been.

Or at least he hadn’t been, until Hercules turned the corner and found Sora sitting in the fountain, leaning against the base of the statue rising out of the water. He looked just as sad as Desponia had claimed him to be. Everything about the boy seemed to be drooping. Face hidden in his knees, Sora had his fingers buried in his hair and was using his arms to help hide his face. 

His usually spiky brown hair was wet enough that it was drooping, and though it may have just been a trick of the moonlight, Hercules swore that Sora’s clothes looked like they were several shades lighter than they had been the last time Hercules had seen him.

Everything about his friend looked utterly miserable and it tore at his heart to see.

“Sora.”

Sora’s head jerked up so swiftly that Hercules was certain that he’d pulled several strands of his hair out.

“Hercules!” 

Hercules watched as his friend’s wide eyes darted up and down his body. It was almost as if he hadn’t expected Hercules to be there. 

“Can you see me?” Sora asked, his voice almost a whisper.

Hercules was sure he made a face before answering his friend. “Of course I can see you. Why are you sitting in the fountain?”

Sora opened his mouth as if to answer only for it to snap shut a few seconds later. Sora chewed his lip for a moment before turning his gaze back down to his hands. 

“It’s just where I landed.” He admitted quietly. 

Hercules frowned before taking the few steps needed to close the distance between him and his friend. The water in the fountain was cold against his feet when he stepped over the fountains ledge but he ignored it in favor of reaching down and grabbing the back of Sora’s shirt. It was just as easy now to pull him to his feet as it had been when they’d first met.

“Come on. Get out of the water. You’ll make yourself sick.” Hercules said as he set Sora’s feet back down into the water. Sora offered him a weary smile before he stepped over the side of the fountain and sat down on the edge.

It was apparently as far as the younger man was willing to go for the time being. Hercules would take it for the moment. He wanted to see if he could get the story of whatever had happened to Sora out of the boy before he threw him over his shoulder and carried him back home to his estate.

So, with the beginnings of a plan in mind, Hercules stepped back onto the stone path and sat down next to his friend.

“Sora, what happened?” He asked, his voice soft.

Sora swallowed before letting out a shaky breath.

“I got lost and now I don’t know what to do. I don’t know how to get back.” Sora paused for a moment, and when he spoke again his voice was shaking. “I’m not even sure if I can go back. I don’t even know how I got here.”

Hercules found that he wasn’t quite certain what to say to his friend. He’d didn’t know how to travel to other worlds and none of the others he’d ever encountered had cared to share the secret with him. And if anyone in his family knew, that was one secret that they weren’t going to share with him.

“We can go to my father or one of my other relatives, one of them might know how to get you home.” 

Sora smiled at the offer, but it was the same sad smile from before. 

“I don’t think they can help me.” Sora admitted. “I don’t think you can either. I don’t think I’ll be back here again for a long time after tonight.”

“Sora, what happened to you?” Hercules asked again, fear creeping into his voice. He’d had time to look his friend over now and he’d just come to the realization that Sora’s clothes actually were several shades lighter than they had been when he’d visited again after their last fight with Hades.

And it wasn’t just that. There was a feeling in his heart that his friend wasn’t quite whole anymore. Sora felt, to his senses, like a shattered vase that someone had tried to put back together. He looked whole, but Hercules’s heart was screaming that he wasn’t. His friend was missing pieces of himself.

“I think I might have died.” Sora admitted in a small, quiet voice.

Every ounce of worry that Hercules had been feeling up until that moment dried up like a shallow dish of water left out in the hot sun. Rage, hot and burning, crawled up his guts and Hercules had to fight to keep an furious scream trapped behind his teeth.

“Who did it?” Hercules hissed. “Sora, tell me who did this.”

Whatever answer Hercules expected, it wasn’t the sudden hysterical laughter that Sora broke into seconds after Hercules had growled out his question.

“No one,” Sora answered, hiccupping in-between giggles, “I did this to myself. I couldn’t let it have Kairi, so I dove down into the dark after her and after I saved her, I got yanked back in.”

Sora’s mad laughter died abruptly, only for tears to start running down his cheeks. “I abused the power of waking. And now I’m paying the price.” 

A sob tore itself out of Sora’s throat as he wrapped his fingers around his elbows and hung his head. Hercules watched as tears poured down his friend’s cheeks and dripped from his chin onto his arms. 

Hercules fingers fumbled at the catches for his cape for a moment before he pulled the cloth over his shoulder and draped it around Sora. Sora’s fingers shifted so that instead of squeezing his elbows they were now buried in the soft blue fabric. 

“I don’t understand what you’re talking about, and I don’t know how to help.” Hercules admitted after taking a few seconds to try and digest his friend’s short story. “But here’s what we’re going to do now.”

Hercules paused as he reached out with one hand and nudged Sora’s chin up so that the younger man was looking at him.

“You’re going to come home with me, and Meg’s going to stuff you full of food. And while she does that, I’m going to find you something dry to sleep in and in the morning after Phil’s had his say we’re going to go see Athena.”

Sora gave Hercules a watery smile before shaking his head. 

“You don’t get it. I can’t leave.”

“That’s why we’re going to Athena. She knows everything.”

“No, Hercules. If I take even a step away from this fountain I’ll disappear. I can’t get any further from the water than I am now.”

Hercules sighed and rubbed a hand across his face before he climbed to his feet. “Unless either you or this fountain have suddenly been cursed, I doubt that's true. Now come on.” 

Hercules gave his friend no warning, for the worry he felt for Sora had overruled any sense he’d had at that moment. He was ready to throw the boy over his shoulder and carry him home, only when he wrapped his fingers around Sora’s arm and pulled the boy to his feet, his hand slipped right through him as if he wasn’t even there.

Hercules mouth dropped opened, his eyes wide as he stared at Sora. In the few brief moments since he’d pulled his friend up Sora had faded so much that he was almost transparent. 

“Sora…”

Sora gave him a sad smile and opened his mouth either to speak or to let out a breath. Which it was however, Hercules would never know, because before even a whisper could make it past his friends lips Sora vanished completely.

Hercules stood still for a moment, his heart in his throat before the world around him seemed to fade away. He didn’t even realize that he’d started running as fast as his feet could carry him back towards his home. Back towards Meg who was waiting for him to drag Sora home with him so she could feed him. Only there wasn’t an extra person for her to have to feed because Sora had vanished like he’d never even been there. 

Hercules’ feet pounded at the streets beneath him and it seemed like he was home in the blink of an eye. He didn’t head towards the house however when he entered the front gate. Instead he headed towards the stable where Pegasus slept. 

His long-time friend was thankfully awake when he leapt over the fence and landed on the other side. Pegasus startled, but only for a moment as Hercules wrapped his hands in Pegasus’s mane and pulled himself onto his back.

“Olympus, now!” Hercules shouted as Pegasus leapt into the air, wings unfolding on either side and catching the wind. The flight was one of the quickest that Hercules had ever taken. There was no time for flips, spins and acrobatics that would have had Meg turning green but that Sora had loved the one time Hercules had taken his friend up into the air with him.

The top of Mount Olympus was just as dark and quiet as the city below it had become. All the gods and goddesses sleeping in their beds. 

All, that is, but one. Athena stood outside the entrance that lead into her chambers. Her armor was gone leaving the lavender skinned woman in only her robes with Ibid perched on her shoulder.

Hercules hit the ground and rolled to his feet, darting forward with surprising grace. “Where is he? What happened to Sora?”

Athena was quiet for a moment before she turned and reentered her chambers, Hercules swift to follow at her heels. The table that sat within, usually piled high with scrolls of some sort was clear, only a pitcher and a pair of cups set upon it instead.

Athena had been expecting him.

“Sit, Hercules, and I will tell you what my owls have told me about the young Atlas’s fate.” Athena said as she poured herself a cup full of wine.

Hercules clenched his fingers tightly but did as the goddess demanded. The seats at Athena’s war table were not meant for comfort but even if they had been in his current state Hercules wouldn’t have noticed. 

“To tell you this tale I must first tell you another. I told you a little of the Wielders’ War when you last asked, but now I think it best that you know all of it, for it may soon be knowledge you need. And I fear the young Atlas may be in the middle of this battle as well.”

“Why do you call him that?” Hercules asked before Athena could begin.

“Call him what?” Athena asked even though it was clear she knew the answer already.

“Why do you call Sora, Atlas?”

“Because your young friend carries the weight of not only this world but many others on his shoulders, and though he has friends that would help him carry this burden it is one that, in the end, he will have to carry alone.”

Athena paused for a moment and took another sip of her wine before speaking, while Ibid fluffed his feathers and settled more comfortably on her shoulder. 

“Once, long ago in a time known as the age of fairy tales, all the worlds were one. This one great world was watched over by a great light. And it was from this light that all things began…”

The sun had barely risen into the sky when Pegasus landed at the harbor. The waves lapped against the ships that had yet to set out to sea for fish and journeys that Hercules himself couldn’t imagine. He wondered if any of the ships here traveled to other worlds like Sora could.

Hercules movements were tired as he slid off Pegasus’ back and onto the ground. Athena’s tale had been long, and by the time she’d finished Hercules heart ached more than it had when Sora had vanished into nothing.

Hercules sighed as he pulled the glass bottle Athena had given him from his belt. Inside was a letter that he hoped would find his friend and, if not his friend then perhaps someone who could help him.

Once she’d finished telling her story Athena had given him the bottle, a sheet of parchment and a quill and ink pot and told him to write a message. The message was to go in the bottle, and the bottle was to be thrown to the sea, so that the waves could carry it where they willed.

It had taken Hercules what felt like hours to complete the short message he’d written, but the words had felt right in the end and that was all he could hope for. Athena hadn’t returned, even after he’d finished so he’d taken his leave.

Now he stood on the edge of the longest dock at the harbor, stoppered bottle in hand. Blue eyes watched the sun reflect off the glass, before he pulled his arm back and then flung the bottle out into the open water with all his strength. He watched the bottle sail through the air for as long as his eyes were able and when it was finally beyond his sight he turned and made his way back towards Pegasus. 

He’d done what he could, and even though it made his heart ache, for now there was nothing more to be done. He couldn’t leave his world to look for Sora even though he wished with all his heart that he could repay his friend for everything he’d done for them. 

All Hercules could do was hope that his short message was enough to help.

Sora,

You don’t have to fight this battle alone, and when the time comes I’ll be there to help you fight it no matter what. Stay strong and remember we’re here for you, just like you’ve always been here for us. Athena says a war is coming and I know deep in my heart that it’s one we’ll win.

Herc


	2. By the Seaside

Sora walked his feet a steady drum on the surface beneath them. He’d have liked to call it ground but Sora knew that it wasn’t dirt and rock beneath his feet even if it looked like that’s what it was. The Abyss played tricks and told lies to those trapped within it. Sora had figured that out the first time what had appeared to be solid ground had disappeared beneath his feet and sent him plunging down to one of the not ground pathways beneath him.

The Abyss teased and gave hope to those lost in its depths only to pull the rug out from under their feet as soon as a little bit of hope grew in their hearts. Sora knew all this and still he held on to the hope that was his connections with his friends. For it was because of those connections that he’d found the crack that had lead him to Hercules. For two nights he’d gotten a little bit of peace away from the hell he’d trapped himself in.

It had been nice and peaceful and leaving Hercules behind had been like getting trampled by a herd of Satyr. But his visit with Hercules had given him one thing that he hadn’t been sure of before. It had given him proof. For tucked away in one of his bottomless pockets was the blue cape that Hercules had draped over his shoulders.

Sora didn’t quite know how or why the cape had been yanked back into the Abyss with him but he was thankful for it. It was proof that his trip to Olympus hadn’t been a dream. He’d thought it was the first time it had happened but now he knew that it hadn’t been and every time the thought tried to slip into his head that Hercules hadn’t been real he could reach into his pocket and rub his fingers against the worn fabric of Hercules’ cape.

It was a small kindness the first and possibly only he would receive here. The Abyss was cruel and apparently never ending. Sora could spend what felt like days walking along one of the may narrow trails hoping that it would lead him somewhere only for it to end in a drop that lead only to a deeper darkness.

It was the same darkness that Sora had crawled his way out of after he’d rescued Kairi. 

The mere thought of this made Sora shiver. While Sora’s memories of being in the deeper darkness where fuzzy at best he knew better than to dwell on them. Dwelling called attention to the memories and his memories of the place called it’s attention and the attention of the things that lived there to him.

The things in the dark didn’t have a shape or a form but they were sticky and where they clung to bare skin it felt like ice in cold water. Like prying fish out of the ice that had formed when it was put in cold water to thaw. 

Sora had been certain at one point that his skin would be black where the cold dark had touched him. He’d expected frostbite to have made its way across his arms and for his fingers to be stiff and numb.

It had never happened however and once Sora had found the strength to pull himself up out of the pit below he’d been able to see that the only true damage that had been done had been what he’d done to himself. Because while there was no black along his skin sometimes when he looked at his hands just right he could see cracks running along his fingers and palms.

Lines of pale transparent blue seemed to crisscross his skin until he blinked and it went away. At first Sora had thought it was some sort of trick like everything else in the Abyss seemed to be. Then once when the cracks in his hands had been visible he touched one and it was like running his fingers over the crystal beakers at Merlin’s house. The blue cracks felt the same as they had when he’d been pulling himself back together in the Final World.

He’d thought at first that he had broken again but if he had shouldn’t he remember pulling himself back together again? He’d remembered last time even when no one else had seemed to so maybe it was only fair that he didn’t remember now. Whichever it was Sora tried not to dwell on it too much.

Right now the crack in his hands and what they may or may not mean weren’t what was important. What was important was trying to find his way out of the Abyss and back to his friends. And in order to do that he had a lot of walking to do and a lot of paths to choose from.

So Sora walked his feet carrying him along the narrow paths like they had carried him across the paths of the worlds he’d visited with Donald and Goofy. And while he walked he hummed the soft melody that his and Riku’s hearts had created together in their Mark of Mastery exam. And when humming wasn’t enough noise he sang as loudly as he could for as long as he could manage.

Words tumbled from his lips in a voice that wasn’t quite right to his own ears but when one learned their notes and pitches underwater nothing sang on land ever sounded right. Not that it much mattered to Sora. The sea shanties of his youth and the ones he’d learned from Jack and Not Jack in the Caribbean were enough to keep his mouth and ears occupied when the quiet grew to great.

“The king and his men stole the queen from her bed,” Sora sang the volume of his voice lowering in accordance with the almost sad tune of the song. 

“And bound her in her bones. The sea’s be ours and by the powers…”

“Where we will we’ll roam.” A new voice sang as Sora set his foot down not on the path in front of him but in the rolling wave of a tide going out. The sudden shift in his footing was enough to make Sora stumble forward and hit his knees in the water.

Blue eyes blinked in shock at the white sand beneath his hands and for half a second Sora dared to hope that he was back on Destiny Islands. A second glance however told him other wise. The long leather sleeves of his jacket was proof enough that he wasn’t back home but in the Caribbean.

“Best watch those waves child. If your not careful they’ll get the best o’ you.” 

Sora’s head jerked up at the sound of the other singers voice and he couldn’t help the smile that stretched across his face.

“Tia Dalma!”

“Hello child.” Tia Dalma said as she walked through the waves towards Sora. The woman smiled a smile that might have been a sharks had she not been human. “It’s been quite some time since you were last in these waters.”

“I know.” Sora said as he climbed to his feet and walked a few feet towards the shore. “I’m glad your here. I was worried.”

“About the promise you made me.” Tia Dalma smiled again. “Don’t be. The promise you made me wasn’t quite the promise you think you made.”

“I promised to free you but before I could Barbossa and the others did.”

“Aye they did but they only freed me from my mortal skin. They did not free me the way you can.” Tia Dalma smile a smile that spoke of an oceans worth of secrets.

Sora blinked and turned to look at the woman standing beside him. “The way I can?”

“Only one with a key such as yours can unlock the waters of the world so that I can roam the true extent of the seas I rule.” 

Sora’s eyes darted down to his hand his fingers clenching into a fist. He hadn’t been able to call his keyblade since he’d freed Kairi’s heart and returned her to the Destiny Islands. 

“I can’t do that anymore.” Sora admitted. Tia Dalma only grinned however.

“Not now you can’t but in time. Oh, lad the things you are destined to do in time none would believe.”

Sora huffed and shook his head looking down at his feet and crossing his arms so that the fingetts on either hand could wrap around his elbows. “I’ve heard something like that before.”

“You will be the one to open the door.” It was something he’d heard maybe a dozen times always whispered not into an ear but into his heart. He never knew what door the voice was talking about and the few times he’d dared to try and ask nothing had answered.

“You’ll hear it again.” Tia Dalma told him as she stepped towards him. Reaching out she rested her hands on either side of his face and gently tilted Sora’s face so that he was looking her in the eyes. Her hands were cool and felt rougher on his skin than Sora had expected. “I am not the only one who knows of you child and I’m not the only one waiting for you to find your way back.”

“I’m trying but its not going very well. Every time I think I’m getting somewhere the pathway changes or disappears. I’m not even sure how exactly I find my way to the cracks. I usually just kind of stumble through them.” Sora admitted. 

“You’ll learn.” Tia Dalma told him her voice sure. “Sometimes you need to lose your way before you can find the proper path. Sometimes to lose is to find and to find is to lose.”

Tia Dalma offered him another smile this one softer and kinder than the one before. “I wish I could keep you here child but your time runs short and I haven’t the strength to break the tie that pulls you from the world.”

Sora offered her a smile in return. “It’s okay. I knew the risks.”

“Know this Sora. When it seems like all ways are lost to you help will find you. You entered that dark abyss alone to save the heart of one you hold dear but you will not leave it so.” Tia Dalma let go of Sora’s face but it was only so she could reach down into the water by their ankles.

Sora watched as she dug one of her hands into the sand by her feet the water turning murky as she dug. When her hand finally emerged her dark fingers were wrapped around a sheathed dagger. 

“Take this. You’ll be needing it.” Tia Dalma said as she pushed the water damaged sheath into Sora’s hand. Sora eyed the outer covering of the blade for a few moments before he pulled the blade from its resting place. While the handle had been damaged by years in the ocean the blade itself was in pristine condition. The touch of magic that Sora could feel in the metal had kept the blade sharp.

It wasn’t a sword but it would work in a pinch and he could use it to sling spells if he needed too. It was at least something he could use to defend himself while his keyblade was out of his reach.

“Thank you.” Sora said as he slid the blade back into its sheath and tucked the dagger into his pocket the blade tucked safely away with Hercules’s cloak.

“I wish I could give you more child but for now this small thing is all I can do for you.” Tia Dalma said and much to her credit she did sound sad.

“It’s okay. It’s more than I expected.” Because Sora knew he was lucky to have run into anyone at all. He could have wondered through the crack and ended up sitting in the surf until the Abyss pulled him back in again. Tia Dalma didn’t have to show herself to him. Didn’t have to give him the dagger but she had.

He still owed her for the Leviathan after all and Sora knew what trouble unpayed debts could cause. While he doubted that Will was as cruel as Davy Jones had been he had no desire to spend a lifetime trapped on the Flying Dutchman.

“I’ll pay you back one day. I promise.”

Tia Dalma smiled as she turned from Sora so that she was facing the ocean. 

“I know you will child. I have faith.” When she turned back to where Sora had been standing he was no longer there but she wasn’t surprised.

“That I could save you from this suffering sweet boy.” Tia Dalma sighed and shook her skirt. A single white crab fell from her skirt folds and into the water and began to wander around her feet. “But there are things in this world and all the others that need to happen and to change them would be to doom us all. When your friends come calling I’ll set them on the right course but everything else they must do themselves.”

Reaching down into the water Tia Dalma wrapped her fingers around the crab that had fallen from her dress and pulled it out of the water. She ran a gentle finger over its white shell and whispered. “Find Jack Sparrow and bring him to me.”

Her orders given she dropped the crab back into the water and watched it crawl away.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I thought about going with Sora meeting Will in this one but he decided that he needed to talk with Tia Dalma instead. My general idea is that beings like gods have very long memories and a general knowing of whats going on even though the worlds are all split up.


	3. Sitting in the Fountain

Sora panted his lunges heaving with every breath he took but he knew that if he stopped moving the thing behind him would do its absolute best to knock him from his path. And that was something he didn’t want to happen. He’d already been knocked back down to a lower level and he still wasn’t certain that he’d made it back to where he’d been before. He liked to think that he had but the pathway was different again.

Before the path had only been a few feet wide but now Sora was quite certain that both he and Riku could lay down feet to feet and there would still be space to walk around them both. It was both a good thing and a bad thing. Good because he had more space and slipping off the side seemed less likely to happen. Bad because that meant that the thing behind him could get around him and throw him from the path if Sora wasn’t fast enough.

Sora didn’t know where the dragonesque creature had come from. He only knew that one moment the area around him had been clear and the next moment the monster behind him had been hot on his trail.

Sora wasn’t even really sure how he’d known that he needed to run. There had been no sound to alert him of the monsters arrival just a sudden prickling feeling along his spine. He’d taken a step and the hair on his neck and arms had stood on end and then he’d been running as fast as his feet could carry him while the monster behind him lashed out with its claws.

On instinct Sora had rolled forward to dodge the swipe cutting through the air over where his head had been seconds before. Instead of turning to fight however Sora had kept running. He had hoped that the monster behind him would tire of chasing him eventually.

It hadn’t. Instead Sora had been running for what was starting to feel like forever. He had no desire to fight the beast but it was looking more and more like he was going to have to with every passing second. 

Sora supposed that it was time to give the knife Tia Dalma had given him a try. Reaching into his pocket Sora pulled the blade from its sheath and turned to face the creature behind him. There was no time for him to ready a spell or even swing the blade to defend himself however. 

Sora hit the ground hard as the monster bowled him over. Sora didn’t stay on the ground long however rolling to his feet and turning so that he was facing his opponent. The monster hissed and barred its fangs red eyes glowing in the dim light that surrounded them. The two stared each other down for a few seconds before Sora lunged forward slashing at one of the beasts legs.

The blade stuck and the monster jerked a startled shriek filling Sora’s ears. Sora rolled as the monster’s tail whipped around and slammed into the ground behind him. 

“Burn!” Sora shouted as he swung the blade forward. Fire danced along the metal for a heartbeat before leaping into the air between him and his attacker. For a few seconds the Abyss around him was as bright as day. 

The the monster burst through the flames and slammed into him. Sora wheezed as all the air was knocked from his lungs and his feet left the ground. The knife Tia Dalma had given him thudded into the path below him the handle sticking up waiting for Sora to draw it from the dirt.

But Sora knew that wasn’t going to happen. He knew where the monsters strike was taking him and some small part of him despaired at the thought. He was going over the side back down into the deeper part of the Abyss.

As Sora tumbled over the edge a soft glimmer in the air caught his eye. Without even thinking Sora reached out a hand and wrapped his fingers around the soft shimmer. And instead of a seemingly endless plunge into darkness his back slammed into water covered stone.

Sora’s lungs screamed at him as he tried to get his breath back. The world around him was fuzzy at the edges and Sora knew that if he sat up now he’d probably end up dizzy. So Sora lay still for a few minutes and practiced taking deep even breathes.

When he was finally able to draw in a proper lung full of air he sat up and took in his surroundings. Sora’s breath hitched as he took in the stone walls of Radiant Garden.

The sudden desire to scream that crawled up Sora’s throat was only stopped by the fact that it was the middle of the night and him screaming probably wasn’t the best idea. There wasn’t any reason for Sora to think that anyone would hear him if he did scream. And if he did it didn’t mean that anyone would come and see who was screaming. 

There was a chance that he could attract Leon or one of the others but Sora wasn’t even sure if they still patrolled the streets at night or not. Cid’s Claymores did a great job of driving off Heartless so long as they weren’t the larger variety. 

Climbing to his feet Sora glanced at the area around him. Leon and the others had just started repairing the fountain court when he’d last been on this world. He’d been looking forward to seeing the fountains once they’d been repaired but right now any joy he might have found in them lasted only a few brief seconds.

Because this was the exact same thing that had happened before. Sora was free of the abyss but only for the moment. Only until he stepped off the water or the Abyss pulled him back in. The one step he’d be allowed out of the fountain wouldn’t even be enough to let him sit on one of the near by benches.

He couldn’t wander the street until he found Merlin’s house or Cloud or Leon or any of the others. He was just as trapped here as he had been in the Abyss and he wasn’t even free from that.

In that moment Sora wanted nothing more than to find Riku and Kairi and hold on to them as tight as he could. He wanted to wrap his arms around his friends and swear that he was never going to leave either of them ever again. He’d beg for their forgiveness on his knee’s if he needed too so long as it meant that they knew he was so so sorry for breaking his promise.

He’d tried so very hard to follow Kairi back from where he’d found her heart but in the end the Abyss’s pull had been too strong and he hadn’t had the strength left to fight against it.

Sora huffed as tears began to snake their way down his cheeks. As the first tear splashed into the water beneath him Sora hit his knees. Sobs were quick to work their way out of his throat as Sora buried his face in his hands.

Shoulders hunched and back bent as if the entire world was weighing him down is how he was found several minutes later.

“Sora?” His name was a soft breath of air passing through surprised lips. The voice was so quiet that Sora didn’t hear it over the sound of his own crying.

“Sora.” This time the voice was loud enough to catch Sora’s attention. Sora’s head jerked up and to the side so that he was looking at the person who had called his name.

“Leon.” Sora’s voice came out as a harsh whine. But it was enough to get the other man moving. Leon ran the few short yards that separated them hitting his knee’s in the water beside Sora. A pair of strong arms wrapped around Sora and pulled him close.

Leon was speaking words coming out of his mouth faster than Sora had ever heard them but he couldn’t quiet make out what exactly the older man was saying. 

Once Sora had calmed and Leon’s words had slowed the two of them sitting in silence for a moment. 

“Lord Ansem told us that you were gone. He said you were dead.”

Sora probably should have been surprised by Leon’s words but he found he wasn’t. It was the logical conclusion. He’d vanished after bringing Kairi back so it wouldn’t be too odd for everyone to think that he might have taken her place.

“I don’t think I’m dead.” Sora admitted quietly because sometimes not even he was sure. “I think I’m just stuck.”

Leon turned his head so that he could look Sora in the face as he spoke.

“Stuck? Stuck where?”

Sora shewed his lip for a moment not quite sure how to explain. He didn’t think Leon and the others knew anything about the Abyss unless someone had taken the time to explain it to them. Someone might have but Sora doubted it. It was hard enough to get people to tell him things he needed to know. So he doubted that Leon and the rest of the Restoration Committee had been told anything.

“I know I’m sitting here with you right now but that could change at any moment.” Sora tried to explain. “I’ve showed up in a couple of other worlds before but me being there never lasts long. I’m always pulled back in the end.”

“Pulled back where?” Leon asked. His eyes were serious and focused as if he thought that Sora’s problem was as simple as finding out where he was and then taking a gummi ship to go get him.

Sora wished it was that simple. But nothing in his life had been simple for a long time so Sora didn’t expect this to be either.

“They Abyss.” Sora answered because he wasn’t going to lie to his friend about what had happened to him and maybe answering Leon’s questions as truthfully as he could would help him in the long run.

Leon nodded to himself a sure motion that let Sora know exactly what the older man was going to say before he could actually say it.

“You can’t get there. Not without a Keyblade and even then I don’t know if that would work.”

Leon’s teeth clicked together as he closed his mouth. Sora could tell that he was thinking the problem over working all the angles that he could in an attempt to find a way to help. 

Sora was simply grateful that the man hadn’t tried to move him out of the fountain yet. Every moment that Leon didn’t try to move him was another moment he got to spend under the stars in a world where there was life and Sora was so grateful for the small chance to rest. He didn’t want to go back to the Abyss where everything seemed to be a lie to all of his senses. He didn’t want to go back and face the monsters that lived there without something to defend himself with. 

He’d dropped the knife that Tia Dalma had given him and without it he couldn’t focus the magic to cast spells well enough for them to do any damage. 

Sora sniffed and slumped forwards so that hie head was resting on Leon’s should. The older man wrapped his arms back around Sora’s shoulders in another hug. Leon wasn’t really the openly affectionate type but it seemed that he was willing to indulge Sora’s apparent need for physical comfort at that moment in time.

Sora sniffed as tears began running down his cheeks again. Theses weren’t the heavy sobbing tears he’d been crying when Leon had found him. These tears were soft and slow. A quiet weeping instead of loud sobbing.

“We’ll figure this out Sora.” Leon spoke softly as if he was afraid that speaking loudly would cause them trouble. “Whatever this is we’ll find a way to help you. You’ve done so much for all of us the least we can do is find a way to get you home.” Leon’s words were more of a comfort than he would ever know.

What might have been an eternity later Sora vanished from the fountain as if he had never been there. Pulled back into the Abyss that was his prison. The only small glimmer of light was that Sora landed where he had fallen. The blade Tia Dalma had given him still sitting in the dirt near his feet. The monster that had been chasing him was gone perhaps it had followed him over the edge. Reaching down Sora pulled the blade from the dirt and began walking again.

In Radiant Garden Leon suffered several seconds of shocked panic after Sora vanished. It was several seconds before he climbed to his feet and began running as fast as his they would carry him to the castle. He knew that Ansem and the other scientists that worked there had a way of contacting the King and surely the King had a way of contacting Sora’s other friends. He’d promised after all to do as much or as little as was needed to bring their missing friend home.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Let it be known that I hate editing and that I also completely and totally forgot to send the rest of this fic to my editor. I did give it a quick read through though so that has to count for something I guess.


	4. Tying Shoelaces

The stars around him where whispering softly in his ears as he rested. Soft puffs of air slipped past Sora’s chapped lips as he lightly dozed. The whispering of the clear stars around him was a soft and welcome sound that soothed some tired part of his mind more than he had ever dared to think.

Some stars were singing softly while others seemed to quietly mutter to themselves. Most of Sora’s attention was caught by one of the stars nearest to where he lay. The voice was soft and young and full of a loving tone he hadn’t heard aimed in his direction since he was much younger.

It was a mothers voice whispering soft words of love for the child she had left behind too early. Sora blinked and moved to sit up his ribs protesting slightly at the movement. He wasn’t quite sure how he’d ended up back in the Final World but he was thankful for it. He hadn’t stood a chance against the pack of Misplaced that had been chasing him. They’d been small and swift almost wolf like in appearance and the dozen or so that had been chasing him down had been too much for his tired body and exhausted magic to go up against.

And when Sora had stumbled and fallen his foot catching against the path he’d been certain that he was going to be swarmed as soon as he fell. Instead he found himself landing in the thin layer of water that covered the mirror like floor of the Final World. All around him softly glowing translucent stars shimmered matching those of the night sky above him.

“Whats his name?” Sora whispered as he pushed himself into a sitting position. He hoped that the star would be one that was able to reply. The Mother’s words slowed to a stop and there was a moment of silence between the two.

“Whose?” the star asked.

“Your son’s?” Sora replied. “If I run into him I can tell him how much you love him and that you’re sorry you had to be separated so soon.”

“Why would you do such a thing for me?” The star whispered her voice sad.

“Yes,”

“Why?”

“Do I need a reason?” Sora asked his mind sticking for half a moment on the far off memory of his mothers voice.

“No, I suppose you don’t. Thank you for this. My son’s name is…” 

Sora tilted he head to the side as the stars voice lowered to a whisper. It was the same thing the other star had done when he’d promised to find the person meant for her message. The mother had accepted his promise just as easily as the other star had but Sora wasn’t going to complain. If he could do something for those that lingered in the Final World then he’d do it. 

If trying to keep these promises made to lingering souls could make someone living happy then it’d be worth it. Any good feeling he could manage while he tried to find his way back home was worth it. He needed these small moment’s of light just as much as he needed the moments he was able to spend in the realm of light.

“What about his father?” Sora asked. “Would you like me to give him a message too?” 

“His father…” The star went quiet for a moment as if pondering. Sora let her. Perhaps she was trying to remember if she’d loved the man who had gotten her pregnant or if he had even been there. It happened sometimes on the island. People had sex and sometimes when a woman got pregnant she didn’t want anything to do with the father or perhaps the father didn’t want anything to do with her.

But sometimes life got in the way of them being together. Sometimes lives were cut far too short far too soon. Sora hoped that the child’s father hadn’t died before they’d been born.

“I loved his father perhaps not as much as I could have had we gotten to know each other better but he was kind and he loved the both of us. Tell him I’m sorry that our time was cut short. Tell him I’m sorry that I didn’t love him as much as I could have if we’d had the time.”

Sora opened his mouth to respond but the words died in his throat as an almost familiar feeling began to tug at his heart. The feeling didn’t stay a tug for more than a second however before it became a yank and before Sora could make even a sound the Final World dissolved and faded away the Abyss growing around him in it’s place.

Sora sighed as he climbed to his feet his eyes taking in the long pathway stretching out before him. He hadn’t gotten the father’s name but perhaps if he was lucky and was able to find the son then the father would be the same person.

Perhaps for once in his life things would be simple. So with a new promise made and a name tucked away in the safety of his heart Sora began walking again.

An eternity later or perhaps what had felt like an eternity a soft glimmer in the air stopped Sora dead in his tracks. It looked like fog only instead of being white this fog seemed to glow golden. A soft shimmer in the air that was slightly familiar. Sora had seem this when the big dragon shaped Misplaced had tried to knock him from the path. The last time he’d touched one of these he’d been taken to Radiant Garden.

If he touched this one where would it take him?

He could hope for Destiny Islands or maybe the Land of Departure. There had been a waterfall and a shallow pond there. The only problem with either place was that chances were it be the middle of the night just like before and there wasn’t a guarantee that anyone would be awake in either place to see him. And if no one was awake to know he was there then what good would ending up in either place do him?

He didn’t have the magic left at the moment to cast a spell to catch anyone’s attention and he doubted that standing in the water and screaming would do much more than give him a sore throat. Though the sound might echo more in the Land of Departure than it would on his home world. 

It was still worth a try either way so Sora took a deep fortifying breath and reached out to touch the fog before him. His fingers tingled as they made contact with the soft mist.

Sora took a deep breath as he stepped into the fog. He closed his eyes as the Abyss shifted and when he opened them again he was standing in an alleyway water from a broken fire hydrant surrounding his feet and the bright blue sky above him.

Sora couldn’t help but stare his head tilted back as far as it would go. He hadn’t seen sunlight in what felt like forever. Every time he’d slipped though to another world before it had been nighttime. But here and now the sun was shining and the sky’s were a clear blue dotted with white puffy clouds.

A commotion from the front of the alleyway drew Sora’s attention to the street beyond. Several anthro’s were standing around the hydrant that had flooded the alley. Sora could only assume that they were trying to figure out what exactly to do about the gushing water. 

Steps shaky Sora made his way towards the end of the alley and the street beyond. The conversing anthro’s paid him no mind as he exited the alleyway and began walking down the wet street. The water had spread far enough that Sora could walk from one end of the street to the other if he so desired.

Sora hoped that he had enough time here to enjoy the sun on his skin and maybe get something to eat because while he hadn’t been hungry while wandering the Abyss he was starting to feel that way now. Taking a deep breath the lingering scent of food caught Sora’s nose and pulled his attention towards a large open plaza with a fountain in the middle.

What appeared to be several street vendors had carts set out around the fountain and from what Sora could tell a few of them were selling food. The only down side was that the water that was spread down the street didn’t reach far enough for him to get to where he wanted to go. 

He’d get about halfway to the nearest vendor selling food and then the water would run out and with it his chance at getting something to eat would go with it.

“You’ve done harder things than this.” Sora muttered to himself. “If you could take down Xenahort then you can do this.”

Despite his attempts at talking himself into moving Sora found that he couldn’t quite bring himself to move yet. While a part of him really wanted to try and get something to eat another much larger part of him was absolutely certain that if he took a single step off of the wet cobblestone he’d be slingshotted back into the Abyss and that was the absolute last thing he wanted to happen.

In the end however the decision was taken out of Sora’s hands. Sometime during Sora’s poor attempts to gain the confidence to make his way over to the plaza a young anthro had wondered over to him. 

Sora jumped as a small hand tugged at his jacket. A small voice saying, “Excuse me. Can you help me tie my shoes?”

Sora’s head jerked down to look at the source of the voice and he immediately felt like he’d been punched in the gut. Standing in front of him was someone that could have passed as a much younger Goofy. 

Sora had to take a deep breath before he offered the child in front of him a smile and a response.

“I can. Would you like me to tie it here or do you want to sit down?”

The child chewed his lip for a moment before answering. “Can we sit on a bench? Auntie will gill get mad if I get my clothes wet.”

Sora smile and offered the child his hand noticing for the first time that he wasn’t apparently human in this world. Short brown fur ran down him arm and covered a hand that was closer to a paw than an actual human hand. Glancing down so that he was actually looking at his reflection in the water Sora realized that he was either some sort of small lion or a very big cat.

Shaking off the slight shock of having changed to fit into the world better Sora reached down and took the child’s hand. He was immediately pulled not to a near by bench like the child had requested but to the plaza and the fountain that sat in the middle of it.

Sora had cringed and waited for the inevitable vanishing that was certain to come with leaving the water but it never happened. Instead as he crossed the warm cobblestone plaza a warm feeling began to grow in his heart. It felt almost like his connection with his friends did but also slightly different at the same time. 

It was as if he knew the child climbing up to sit on the fountains edge but not personally. It was like getting a connection from hearing about someone’s friend and then only meeting them later. There was a connection there but only one made of the feeling of knowing someone very slightly.

Having settled himself on the edge of the fountain the young boy offered Sora his shod foot. Sora grinned as he reached out and began tying the laces. The knot he used probably wasn’t one that anyone on this world used but Sora’s father had taught him an easy fisherman’s knot to tie his shoes with when he was young and even though his boots buckled Sora still used fisherman’s knots to tie anything with laces. Much to the annoyance of most of his friends.

Dark eyes watched in amazement as Sora made swift work of both the untied shoe and the shoe that was very close to coming untied. 

“There you go.” Sora said as he finished. “Those should hold you til you get home.”

The boy grinned as he looked at his shoes before turning to look at Sora. 

“Those are really cool.”

“Thank you. My dad showed me how to tie them when I was little because my knots didn’t like to stay tied no matter how many times I tied them.” Sora said as he sat down on the edge of the fountain. Sora’s stomach gave a soft growl as he sat down. It wasn’t a loud enough noise to attract the kid’s attention but it was enough to remind Sora that he was hungry and that he had been planning on getting something to eat and maybe now that he had the chance something to drink that wasn’t whatever water source he’d landed in.

Instead of making his way towards one of the food stands however Sora turned his attention back to the child beside him.

“Whats your name?”

The child blinked and turned his attention from his shoes to Sora before he grinned and held out a hand for Sora to take.

“My names Max.”

“Nice to meet you Max. I’m Sora.” he said as he took Max’s hand and shook it. The warm feeling in his heart grew and Sora knew then that this wasn’t just a second hand connection. Sora knew this boy from not once source but from two. Goofy who had told him a few stories about his young son and the star in the Final World that couldn’t move on because of the grief she held for the child she had left behind.

Having had his epiphany over the child behind him Sora turned his full attention back to Max just in time to hear the end of his sentence.

“...has a friend named Sora. Dad said I can’t meet him yet though cause he got lost after he helped a friend get home.”

“I kind of did and I kind of still am.” Sora admitted aloud. He wasn’t going to lie to his friends son. At least not about who he was.

Max’s words trailed off as his mouth dropped open. Dark eyes wide as he realized that the scruffy looking cat sitting next to him was his dad’s missing friend.

“Max if I give something to you do you think you could give it to your dad for me?” Sora asked as he dug into one of his pockets.

“Can’t you give it to him? I know him and Uncle Donald will be real happy to see you.”

Sora smiled a sad smile. He’d love to see the both of them too. “I don’t think I’ll be here long enough.” Sora admitted as he pulled a worn pouch out of his pocket. The pattern on the front was faded and the bag itself was the kind of flat the spoke of being mostly empty. Sora held out the bag for Max to take.

“Why not?” Max asked as he wrapped his hands around the bag and pulled it towards his chest. Dark eyes darted down to take in the pattern decorating the front before darting back up.

Sora opened his mouth to try and reply but the words died in his mouth as a shout cut through the plaza.

“Max!” Mickey’s voice called out as the small king jogged onto the plaza.

“Uncle Mickey!” Max shouted as he jumped off of the fountain and ran towards the frantically searching mouse.

Sora watched as Max and Mickey exchanged words with each other. Max pointing towards the fountain. Sora huffed as the warm feeling in his heart started to fade and he knew that his time was up. 

He hadn’t had the chance to keep his promise to the star but he doubted that she’d mind too much. He knew the people her messages were for and he’d deliver them the next chance he got. 

“He’s over here Uncle Mickey.” Max said as he pulled Mickey along. He stopped dead in his tracks a few feet later however dark eyes looking for Sora. He’d been sitting on the fountain ledge when Max had left to get Mickey but now he was gone.

“Where’d he go?”

“Where’d who go Max?” Mickey asked.

“Sora. He was right here a minute ago and now he’s gone.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And that 's it for this one. I do have plans to continue this eventaully but I'm having trouble deciding howw exactly i want this series to go so it might be awhile.

**Author's Note:**

> I'll be posting a new chapter to this every week until its finished so roughly a month. I'm hoping to turn this into a series at some point in time but we'll just have to see how that goes. No pairings for the moment. Characters will be tagged as they appear.


End file.
